Your 2 cents on main sail furlers

MaryEllaRose

MaryEllaRose

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Sep 11, 2013
242
Catalina 25 6106 Lake Erie Metro Park
The ravages of time have robbed me of a fair amount of agility and the strength in my hands. Climbing on top of the cabin to wrestle with the main sail has become problematic if not down right dangerous. With that in mind, I'm looking into a main sail furler. Not an in mast furler, but the CDI MR2 model that attaches behind the mast. I understand that a new mainsail will be required and that there will be a loss of sailing performance but we're fair weather day sailors, mainly on the western end of Lake Erie.

What are the pros / cons of a behind the mast furler, particularly the CDI MR2? Any pitfalls to avoid?

Thanx,

Tom G
 
dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,423
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Posting only to follow this conversation.

dj
 
Hunter216

Hunter216

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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
This is the manual for the system.

Based on a quick glance it looks like they have taken their headsail furling product, drum, foil extrusion etc and added some fittings to mount it top and bottom. Time tested product from a company that has been at it a long time.

It would eliminate the use of horizontal battens but you already know that :)

Not sure if your intent is to partially furl “reef” or just use it all the way in - out as a easier sail storage/deployment tool.

Also can’t visualize how you UV protect your main with this system.
 

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Rich Stidger

Rich Stidger

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Feb 10, 2004
3,942
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
I can't help with your CDI MR2 furler but I will offer an alternative to consider.

I don't know the cost comparisons with your proposed furling system vs a boom furler, but having a Schaefer boom furler I can tell you that it has lots of advantages over an in-mast furler - I know the MR2 is a behind the mast furler, but read on..... You can use full battens, everything is at deck level in the event of a malfunction, you can drop the main like a regular sail if necessary, and you can reef at each of the batten points. Leisure Furl also makes a boom furler that is very popular and is several thousand bucks less expensive. A sail cover installs/uninstalls in under 2 minutes with no contortions. The only downside (other than cost) is the need for a boom brake (you should have one anyway) and an electric halyard winch (more $$$).
 
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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,773
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
It will reduce the efficiency of the main a great deal when the wind is forward of the beam. I don't know the specific unit you are referring to, but our mizzen has a one and we don't bother with it when beating, unless the air is extremely light.
There is an extreme amount of pressure between the masthead and its attachment point on the lower end, to keep the foil tight. This may require running back stays to keep the mast from bowing out forward in the middle.
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,374
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
dLj said:
Posting only to follow this conversation.

dj
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In the top right hand corner .. you can click the "Watch" button. And I'm telling you this because I also want to watch this post and see where it goes....:biggrin:
 
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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,773
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Rich Stidger said:
I can't help with your CDI MR2 furler but I will offer an alternative to consider.

I don't know the cost comparisons with your proposed furling system vs a boom furler, but having a Schaefer boom furler I can tell you that it has lots of advantages over an in-mast furler - I know the MR2 is a behind the mast furler, but read on..... You can use full battens, everything is at deck level in the event of a malfunction, you can drop the main like a regular sail if necessary, and you can reef at each of the batten points. Leisure Furl also makes a boom furler that is very popular and is several thousand bucks less expensive. A sail cover installs/uninstalls in under 2 minutes with no contortions. The only downside (other than cost) is the need for a boom brake (you should have one anyway) and an electric halyard winch (more $$$).
Click to expand
IMRF do not malfunction, any more than a boat runs aground. People make them malfunction.
 
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David in Sandusky

David in Sandusky

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Nov 8, 2007
1,527
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Our good friends have this setup on their ‘82 Hunter 30. We have sailed on their boat a number of times, and accompanied them to the North Channel on our h27. They later sailed the boat through the Georgian Bay, the Trent- Severn, across Ontario, down the Erie Canal to the Hudson, restepped the mast and sailed outside New Jersey to the Chesapeake and Dismal Swamp to NC where we sailed with them a few years ago. They have never had a problem with the furler. They find it easy to set, furl, and reef. While I’m sure the performance issues are there, I would rate their cruising performance as good. Of course a masthead rig is foresail driven, so that is a plus.
 
seadaddler

seadaddler

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Dec 19, 2006
5,810
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
From what I can see is the less costly way to go to go with behind the mast and maybe recut your old
sail to fit.
I have inmast and love it for sure and inboom is the best for better performance but very $$$$$ is the down side.
Nick
 
Jumpstart

Jumpstart

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Jan 13, 2009
391
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Have you thought of a Tides Marine sailtrack and some lazy jacks. Way less expensive and easy to use. My friend had a Leisure boom on his Tartan 31. Got so frustrated with it he took it off and replaced with conventional boom. He always had trouble getting it to work properly. He even had an electric winch for the halyard.
 
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Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,002
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
I’m sure a furling mainsail would prove a major convenience if it functions as it should. But, if difficulty handling the mainsail is driving your interest in a furling mainsail, might there be an alternative way to bring that down, as suggested above in #10? Agreed, a good setup using lazy jacks and a new track would help a lot with the “wrestling” part even with the need to tie the sail after flaking it down remaining. But if a new mainsail is inevitable, as would be the case with the furler, there’s also the Dutchman sail flaking system (Dutchmar), which comes with a new track and boom brake among other things. If I find myself in a situation similar to yours in the next few years, quite possibly, I think I’d look hard at that system b/f going over to a mainsail furling system of any ilk. But for now, I’m content using lazy jacks with the mainsail on Rutgerson roller battens with a set of long sail ties handy.:)
KG
 
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Sailfanatic

Sailfanatic

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Jul 19, 2013
384
Pearson 31-2 Boston
Kings Gambit said:
I’m sure a furling mainsail would prove a major convenience if it functions as it should. But, if difficulty handling the mainsail is driving your interest in a furling mainsail, might there be an alternative way to bring that down, as suggested above in #10? Agreed, a good setup using lazy jacks and a new track would help a lot with the “wrestling” part even with the need to tie the sail after flaking it down remaining. But if a new mainsail is inevitable, as would be the case with the furler, there’s also the Dutchman sail flaking system (Dutchmar), which comes with a new track and boom brake among other things. If I find myself in a situation similar to yours in the next few years, quite possibly, I think I’d look hard at that system b/f going over to a mainsail furling system of any ilk. But for now, I’m content using lazy jacks with the mainsail on Rutgerson roller battens with a set of long sail ties handy.:)
KG
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I agree with where you are going. I've instructed on a number of IMF vessels and always felt the flat , small mains were bad for performance, although the tradeoff of convenience is everyone's choice.

The best main setup I've used was a stackpack set up on a J40. While you still raise and drop the main, the sail goes right out of and then back into the stackpack. Zip the stackpack top and you are done, no sailcover to deal with. That's the solution I would pursue.
 
O

odaydokay

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Jul 5, 2011
702
Oday 28 Madison, CT
Can you clarify what you mean by a "stack pack setup"? is that any lazy jacks system or something specific you have in mind?
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,773
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Captain Larry-DH said:
Everything fails, eventually. :banghead: Adding people to the mix makes it even more likely to fail.
Click to expand
Then, by your reasoning it doesn't make any difference which type of sail handling system one uses, they are all going to fail. So our ten years of sailing with our IMRF, a lot more than most do because we charter, isn't sufficient to believe a 40 year old system can't hold up to the rigors for which it was designed?
I don't disagree, but I do believe that good maintenance and having a manual back up for the electrical system, and an electrical back up for the manual system puts failure of that particular system way at the bottom of my list of worries, somewhere around being struck by a meteor.
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
4,786
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I am still pretty “young”...not quite 60...

on my O’Day 322 with a traditional main, I use the following:
1) main halyard run back to the cockpit
2) a Milwaukee 28v right angle drill with a “ wincher” bit attachment
3) a Tides Marine Strong track
4) a Mack Sails Mack Pack with lazy-jacks

this allows me to raise, lower and reef the main sail from the cockpit with relative ease.

Greg
 
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MaryEllaRose

MaryEllaRose

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Sep 11, 2013
242
Catalina 25 6106 Lake Erie Metro Park
Thanx for all the insightful replies.
I had considered a boom furler but dismissed it early on as being too $$$. I have to buy a new main sail regardless, the existing sail isn’t cut correctly and presents some other problems as well. The cost of the boom AND a new sail are more than I’m willing to spend on this boat.
We’ve experimented with lazy jacks on a similar boat but found that they could interfere with the battens. I haven’t investigated stack packs or similar set ups. Call ME lazy but I would just as soon not deal with more lines going up the mast.
At this point, I’m committed to the CDI MR2 behind the mast furler. If anyone has experience this particular brand / model, please post.
Once again, thanks for all info and ideas.

Tom G
 
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